Fruits That Have More Vitamin C Than Oranges

by Maia Appleby

Kiwi contains more vitamin C per cup than an orange.

The thought of vitamin C conjures images of oranges with straws poked into them and orange-flavored chewable supplements. A cup of raw navel orange sections provides you with about 98 milligrams of vitamin C, according to the United States Department of Agriculture's Nutrient Database. This exceeds the Institute of Medicine's vitamin C recommendations of 75 milligrams per day for men and 60 for women, but if you want to increase your vitamin C intake, other fruits contain even higher concentrations of that important antioxidant.

Kiwi

The kiwifruit, which originated in China and is now grown in tropical regions throughout the world, contains a much higher concentration of vitamin C than that in a navel orange. Although one kiwi, a small fruit, contains only 64 milligrams of vitamin C, a cup of sliced, green kiwi gives you 167 milligrams of vitamin C. You would have to eat nearly 1 3/4 cups of orange slices to get the amount of vitamin C in 1 cup of sliced kiwi.

Guava

The guava towers over other types of fruit, including oranges, in terms of vitamin C content with 377 milligrams per cup. It is also high in dietary fiber. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends that women get 25 grams of fiber per day and men get 38. A cup of sliced guava contains 9 grams of dietary fiber, three times as much fiber as a cup of orange sections and nearly twice the amount of fiber in a bowl of bran cereal.

Papaya

A cup of sliced papaya, with 88 milligrams of vitamin C, is slightly higher in that nutrient than a cup of oranges. Papaya is also a rich source of beta-carotene and it contains folate, vitamin A and an array of B vitamins. With an abundance of antioxidants, papaya is often used in skin-care products. Its enzyme, according to Texas A&M University horticulturist Julian W. Sauls, is a common component of meat tenderizers and has properties of a skin-softening agent.

Lychee

The lychee, also inaccurately called the lychee nut, is a fruit high in fiber and many nutrients. It is also higher in vitamin C than an orange. Each cup of lychee fruit contains 136 milligrams of vitamin C. It gives you about 10 percent of the amount of potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and folate you need each day. If you are trying to increase your calcium intake, lychee is a good fruit to incorporate into your diet. Each cup contains 10 milligrams of calcium, approximately an eighth of the adult daily recommended intake for that nutrient.

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About the Author

Maia Appleby is a NASM-certified personal trainer with more than 15 years of experience in the fitness industry. Her articles have been published in a wide variety of print magazines and online publications, including the "Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health," "New Moon Network" and Bodybuilding.com. She has also worked as a weight-loss counselor and Pilates instructor.

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